Busan Metro to Allow Bicycles Onboard on Weekends and Holidays

BUSAN, South Korea – Busan City announced an expanded plan to allow bicycles on all metro lines on weekends and holidays starting from July 1, 2012. Currently, only Busan Metro Line 3 has allowed bicycles onboard on weekends and holidays.

The expanded plan is aimed at increasing the accessibility of bike paths for the steadily increasing number of mountain bikers and cyclists touring the riverside paths.

Busan Transportation Corporation conducted citizen surveys on Busan Metro’s bicycle boarding policy from the end of April until the beginning of May. According to the results of the survey, the majority of survey participants agreed with allowing passengers on all metro trains with their bicycles on weekends and holidays.

According to Busan Transportation Corporation, the average daily ridership is about 1000,000, therefore, considering the crowded nature of the metro it has been hard to allow passengers to carry their bikes on the metro on weekdays, while folded bikes have been allowed to be carried onto the metro any day of the week.

Those who carry their bikes on the metro have to use stairs or elevators to get to the platform and need to aware that the disabled, the weak and the elderly, and regular passengers have priority when using the elevators. Passengers are allowed to carry bicycles in the rear cars only, and only on weekends and holidays. There has been no remodeling of metro cars for bicycles.

A city official said “With this expanded metro bicycle boarding service, we will begin to enhance the management of bicycle facilities not only along riverside and mountain cycle paths but also on cycle paths downtown, with more cycle racks and other facilities.

For more information, please contact the Busan Transportation Corporation at 1544-5005